October 20, 2006
One of the frequent email questions that come in to Olive-Drab.com is this one: “What is the origin of the term jeep?”
The answer is not straightforward since there are a number of explanations, none of them completely satisfactory. To answer this question as well as possible, a new Olive-Drab.com page has been created on that topic:
October 13, 2006
The Olive-Drab.com section on U.S. military helicopters has been expanded. This is a sioe effect of the continuing work on the Military Medical section. In order to support the sections on helicopter evacuation, there had to be more helicopter pages. The entries now cover everything from the earliest Sikorsky helicopters in WW II to the latest UH-60 Blackhawk variants. There is still more to do, but most of the pages have been posted.
October 9, 2006
It has been confirmed at this hour that the North Koreans have conducted an underground test of a nuclear weapon. Confirmation is claimed to be supported by detection of seismic activity corresponding to the announced test location and probably other intelligence. There is also speculation that the test may have fallen short of its yield goal.
The U.S. and other countries have stated that such a test would be intolerable. Now the question is what will be done about it? In fact, the outcome seems to depend largely on what China will do. Their control over the future of their region is far more profound and precise than any options available to the U.S. Yes the U.S. could attack North Korean nuclear facilities or make other moves against the North Korean regime, but such action would potentially make matters worse, not better. China on the other hand is right on the border with North Korea and has a lot to gain from achieving a stable outcome.
Watch China to signal the next moves.
Link to Olive-Drab.com section on Nuclear Weapons
October 6, 2006
With roadside IEDs or explosive ambushes taking so large a toll in Afghanistan and Iraq there is a lot of thinking going on about how to counter the threat. The first response was to up-armor the HMMWV and provide armor kits for other soft-skin vehicles. but that has been only partially effective. Armored versions of HMMWVs and cargo trucks resist small arms and minor ballistic threats — certainly worth doing and better than nothing — but they do less well against explosive devices under or against the vehicle. The casualties continue.
A Canadian military think tank has studied the experience and options and has some very interesting observations with significat lessons for U.S. vehicle planners. Defense Industry Daily has more details on their front page today, linked here:
October 2, 2006
On 10 August 2005 DoD issued a Performance Specification for the Military Forces Joint Combat Pistol (JCP). The intent of the Joint Combat Pistol (JCP) Program was stated to be, “… to procure the most reliable, controllable, ergonomic, accurate, maintainable and safe pistol for United States Military Forces.” In other words, complaints about the performance of the M9 Berreta 9mm Pistol were finally being addressed, after 20 years.
The specification called for procurement of a complete JCP system consisting of the weapon, high-capacity magazines, holster, magazine holder, operator’s manual, and cleaning kit. Probably the most interesting specification is that the weapon is to be chambered for the .45 ACP cartridge, the man-stopping and reliable cartridge that served the U.S. military in the M1911A1 pistol, .45 revolvers and submachine guns for roughly 80 years.
Procurement wheels grind slowly, or not at all. After a number of preliminary steps, a Draft Request For Proposal (RFP) was released in December 2005 with an expected formal procurement by mid-2006. But no formalization of the RFP took place. Last month, on 5 September 2006, Modification 04 of the Draft RFP was posted for potential vendors. Surprise! It stated simply: “This notification is to inform Industry the Combat Pistol requirement is postponed indefinately. USSOCOM will no longer issue a Request for Proposal.”
For now, the M9 remains the service pistol with no replacement in sight.
